Our Virtual Assistant Helped Make KCMA’s Virtual Fundraiser a Very Real Success

The biggest fundraising months of the year will be upon us soon. I’d like to share with you how the support of a Nonprofit Virtual Assistant (NPVA) helped Kids’ Chance of Massachusetts make their first virtual fundraising event an unqualified success. If you’re thinking of taking a fundraising event virtual this year, read on for some great tips.

In 2020, while many nonprofits were cancelling events and slowing fundraising efforts due to the pandemic, Kids’ Chance of Massachusetts (KCMA) refused to put their plans on hold. In fact, their mission – providing scholarships for children with a parent who has been severely or fatally injured on the job – felt more urgent than ever as the crisis put more financial pressure on struggling families.

With the leadership of a diverse committee, the enthusiastic participation of dedicated volunteers, and the strong support of a More Than Giving Co. Nonprofit Virtual Assistant (NPVA), KCMA decided to take their fundraising event online.


The Planning

Priority one was deciding how to make a virtual event attractive to people already online for most of their workday. The planning team decided to host a virtual cocktail hour, accompanied by a silent auction. The entire event would last about 90 minutes and would include featuring silent auction items, theme cocktail recipe demonstrations by an entertaining bartender, stories from students who received scholarships, board member introductions, and sponsorship infomercials.

The second priority was designating a project manager who would ensure all action items were assigned to a volunteer and completed in a timely manner. Kids’ Chance was already utilizing the remote administrative support of a More Than Giving Co. NPVA. Rolisa had earned the organization’s confidence and was selected as project manager for the Massachusetts chapter fundraiser.


The Preparation

The committee reached out to get feedback from other organizations with experience in virtual events. This was helpful, but KCMA Fundraising Committee Chair Laurie Parsons cautions, “You have to be careful to use recommendations that match your needs. We are a new and relatively small nonprofit. It didn’t make sense for us to use the bidding website that a larger organization would use when we didn’t have many items in our silent auction.”

As they prepared for the event, the team developed a production outline that listed each activity with an accompanying timeline. Laurie explains, “The worst thing you can do is have dead air, so it was our mission to have every minute programmed.”

Committee leaders decided to hold a dress rehearsal of the entire event as though it was live. This allowed them to work out any unforeseen problems and get used to the technology.

"Without Rolisa, we wouldn't have been able to complete all of the pre-planning, including the dress rehearsal, that inevitably made the difference in producing a polished event,” said Laurie. “An NPVA was an invaluable resource that we didn't know we needed as much as we did. Having that level of administrative support helped keep us task-focused in a very cost-effective manner.”

Rolisa’s support was especially helpful when it came to the silent auction. The committee decided to open the bidding ten days before the event to build “auction fever,” and inspire more bids. This was an effective strategy, but it came with additional administrative work like sending reminder emails and keeping track of progress.


The Support

Rolisa helped KCMA:

  • Capture concise action steps (by when and by whom) during planning meetings

  • Research cost-effective vendors and suppliers

  • Manage the invitation and RSVP process

  • Manage event technology

  • Track auction winning bids and facilitate fulfillment

  • Keep records and issue receipts

  • Make post-event acknowledgments

Beyond event planning, More Than Giving Co. Nonprofit Virtual Assistants can support other tasks critical to your fundraising program, such as managing CRMs and updating donor lists, tracking donations, managing solicitation schedules, assisting in the timely acknowledgment of gifts, overseeing mailings and reports, and more.


The Results

Total donations for KCMA's first virtual fundraiser exceeded all expectations. The event also garnered enthusiastic feedback for how seamlessly it was executed and how smoothly the program flowed. KCMA’s second annual virtual auction fundraiser will be held on September 23, 2021!

As fundraising season ramps up, could your organization use the remote administrative support of a Nonprofit Virtual Assistant for 10, 20, 30, or 40 hours a month?

 
Vicki Burkhart